Wednesday, November 08, 2006

The White House Calls Back!

On this day of all days....some say there is no such thing as coincidence. Who can tell?

Anyway, I was driving back from Milwaukee, where I'd done a two hour PL/SQL best practices talk for a group of 100 Oracle technologists (sponsored by Quest Software), listening to the news of (shock! awe!) the "resignation" of Rummy, and President Bush's admission that when he'd told three wire service reporters just last week that Rumsfeld and Cheney would be with him to the end of his term he'd been, well, pretty much lying through his teeth...and then phone rang!

It was Natasha from the White House Scheduling And Appointments Office with this message (paraphrased):
  • We got your follow up letter to our follow up letter.
  • We have no immediate openings in the President's schedule right now.
  • But we will keep an eye out for an opening and then get in touch with you for a meeting.
  • But no guarantees.
That's promising. Of course, it could just be a stalling tactic. I think what I will do is wait a month and then call/fax a reminder. Do that every month, maybe every two weeks after the first month.

But my gut feeling right now is that it is just a matter of time (when, not if) until I have an appointment to meet Public Servant #1!

1 Comments:

Blogger Alton Jones said...

I visited Washington DC during June 26 thru 28 in 2008. Prior to my visit, I sent an email to the White House requesting a visit with President Bush.

At 2:05 PM, EST, on June 27th, just before walking into the National Gallery of Art, I received a call on my telephone which just displayed the DC area code on the CallerID. My cell phone battery was low, so I opted to wait for a voice mail.

It would have been quite embarrassing to be in the middle of a conversation and have the phone die.

I waited for the telephone to notify that a message was left. It was a representative from the White House scheduling office.

She stated her name and that she was from the White House Scheduling Office and "Due to the President's travel schedule he is unable to meet with me, but sends his best regards."

I saved the voice mail on my telephone and share it with others to get a chuckle.

I'll be traveling back to DC next month and sent another email to the White House requesting another visit with President Bush.

In my emailed request, I provided my home contact information, SSN, hotel confirmation at the Hilton near the U.S. Dept of Treasury as well as my flight schedule.

Saturday December 27, 2008, I received a signed letter on White House stationery from a staff member. The letter (paraphrasing) mentions that the President likes chatting with friends...but his schedule is booked during my visit.

I saved the letter as well.

10:57 AM  

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